It's the most hyped device of the moment, a device that nobody has laid eyes on without an NDA death-grip. While rumour and speculation escalate (sometimes giving way to apathy), little has leaked out of Cupertino. But nobody seems to be asking whether this tablet thing will be successful or not.

Uh, but there is reality to consider. They can’t just magic a product up because that’s what people _expect_. I expect hover cars for everybody, but every year I’m disappointed. Every keynote there have been predictions that pundits have called a dead-cert, that turned out to be false. It’s not that I don’t think the tablet is likely, I just think it’s silly us producing an eco-system of news powered by a rumour mill.